Jagger: Mammoth Forest Wolves - Book Five

by Kimber White

  Astor got close enough that I could feel his breath against my chest. He peered up at me. I couldn’t read him the way he did me. Maybe he used magic to fog my mind. Maybe it was the dragonsteel. Maybe it was this place. I had a hunch if there were any other vessels nearby, we’d be invisible to them. Astor’s magic was strong. He reeked of it. My nature repelled his. And yet, he kept coming closer. He poked my chest with his long, bony finger.

  “Strong Alpha. A warrior, eh? Must’ve been hell for you all these years. How did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  Astor chuckled. “What makes you so special? Or, maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re no better than Able Valent was, just younger.”

  “I am nothing like Able Valent.”

  “Aren’t you?” Astor took a step back. He crossed his arms in front of him. Suzanne moved beside me. She drew in a breath as if she were about to say something, but Astor held up a hand to silence her.

  “You touched the darkness, didn’t you?” Astor asked. “I can feel it, even through the dragonsteel. Fine stuff, that. Must have been forged by a master.”

  There was a twinkle of mirth in his eye as he said the last bit. With it, one of his secrets slammed into my heart. He was the master. He’d made the chains himself. Which meant…

  For the first time since we wrung the truth out of Dr. Martin, I felt a glimmer of hope. It kindled quickly. My knees went a little weak with the effort of holding myself back.

  “Yes,” I said. This was a test, of course. He’d know if I were lying. “Yes, I’ve touched the darkness. You need darkness to kill darkness. But, you already know that. And yet, here I am, standing in front of you wrapped in the very dragonsteel you forged. You could kill me with a flick of your finger, I think. Doesn’t mean I won’t put up a fight, but I feel it.”

  Slowly, I dropped to my knees. I spread my hands as wide as I could, exposing my chest...my heart to a one hundred and twenty-three-year-old mage who apparently had access to dragonfire.

  “She’s my mate,” I said. “And I am begging for her life. I’ll give you mine in exchange. I’ll give you anything that’s in my power to give.”

  Lightning struck over the starboard side of the bow. Static electricity crackled, making Astor’s wispy white hair stand on end. A furious wind kicked up. Astor raised his cane toward the sky and cupped his hand over his eyes.

  “She has my heart,” I said. “Her name is Rowan. And she didn’t deserve what was done to her. She knew going up against Able Valent would probably kill her. She did it anyway. If it weren’t for Rowan, he’d still be alive. The rest of us would never have gotten close enough to kill him. We never would have known how to even get to him.”

  Another lightning strike. The air temperature went up sharply. Sweat beaded my brow.

  Astor took a step back. A sound unlike anything I’d ever heard rumbled from the sky. It wasn’t thunder. It was louder, bigger, deeper. Then above it, something screeched. It was like a locomotive braking at high speed. The clouds swirled and changed shape. A hole split in the middle of them.

  I couldn’t breathe. The boat pitched violently sideways. Astor stumbled but caught himself on the railing.

  Then everything just stopped cold. Arcing high above us in the break in the clouds, great red wings flapped.

  If my hands were free, I would have lifted them to shield my eyes. Blinding white light flashed. The wind blew even fiercer. Every nerve ending in my body crackled with energy as the winged figure arced gracefully down.

  I rolled sideways, landing on all fours.

  It was impossible. A dream. Some trick of Astor’s magic.

  Hot fingers touched my cheek then hooked beneath my chin, pulling my gaze upward until I met her eyes.

  Astor stepped forward, unfurling the cloak he’d carried folded over his arm. He covered her with it as she stepped back.

  Astor was doing something to my eyes. I saw her as if through a prism of light. Her form changed shape and color every time I blinked. She had fiery red hair and piercing blue eyes. I wanted to ask her name, but something inside me told me to stay quiet.

  “You’re Jagger Wilkes,” she asked. Her voice was soft and light. So normal.

  “I am.”

  “The Alpha-Slayer,” she said. “You know that’s what they’re calling you now?”

  “I...I...didn’t…” I stammered. Blinking hard, I tried to clear the double vision.

  “Don’t bother,” Suzanne said beside me. She held her hand up to shield her own eyes. “Astor’s cast a spell. So we won’t ever recognize her again.”

  “It could be worse,” Astor said, laughing. “I wanted to give you amnesia. But, she told me she wanted you to remember what she did for you here today. She said she wanted you to know you owed a debt to a dragon.”

  “How?” It was Suzanne’s turn to stutter. “W-where…W-why?”

  “Because you’re the Alpha-Slayer,” the dragon-woman said. I wanted to know her name, but knew she’d never tell me. “And because I’m much safer in the world now knowing he’s dead.”

  She was. The horror of her truth burned through me. If Able Valent had ever been able to get his hands on a real live dragon…If I weren’t already on my knees, I would have dropped to them.

  A flash of silver caught my eye. She pulled a dagger. It gleamed as she held it high, then drew it across her wrist with a flourish.

  Astor was there. He held a small, black vial beneath her hand, collecting a few precious drops of her blood. He capped the vial and stepped back.

  She came to me, her eyes swimming in blue fire. “Remember,” she whispered. “You owe a debt to a dragon. Someday, I may need to collect.”

  Nodding, I struggled to my feet. I wanted to thank her. I wanted to ask her a million other questions. But, the wind kicked up and the lightning raged. I blinked again and she was airborne. I saw her great red wings unfurl as she launched herself skyward.

  In a flash she was gone.

  Thirty-One

  Jagger

  Rowan’s hand was ice cold as I brought it to my lips. I wished there was sunlight. But we’d arrived back under a starless, moonless night.

  Suzanne’s hands were still trembling as she held a syringe up to the light and tapped it. She slowly pushed the plunger, stopping just short of letting the blood bead at the tip. We couldn’t afford to waste one precious drop.

  “Jagger,” she said. “Are you sure about this?”

  I looked at Rowan. In the weeks since the battle, she’d become almost skeletal. Blue veins stuck out in stark contrast to her pale white skin.

  “Of course I’m sure. Get on with it.”

  Molly stood at my side. She had a hand on my back, rubbing in small, slow circles. She’d been like this since we got back. Liam and his pack stood guard outside. I knew the rest of the Mammoth Forest men were close by. Many more had come down from neighboring towns and all across the state. Rumors spread like wildfire that she may be about to die.

  If I was the Alpha-Slayer, Rowan was their true champion. She mattered.

  We told no one about the dragon blood. She hadn’t asked me point-blank to keep her existence a secret. But, the knowledge burned in my heart. It was sacred. As she said, I was in the debt of a dragon. If she’d asked, I would have laid down my life for the chance to save the woman I loved.

  And I did love her. It burned brightly within me, tethering me to the ground. The thought of losing her opened up a black hole beneath me. I needed only to jump through it.

  “Molly,” I said, locking eyes with her. “Promise me something.”

  “Anything,” she said, but she drew a quick breath right after, instantly regretting it. She knew what I was about to say.

  “If this doesn’t work...if I lose her...don’t come after me.”

  “It’ll work.” She refused to say anything more.

  “It will make her whole,” Suzanne said. “At least, I think. You know the legends. Dragon’s blood has healing powers. It’s ju
st...I don’t know what whole is for someone like Rowan. She might not wake up like she was. She could be just human. She could be fully shifter. She could also…”

  Suzanne’s voice trailed off, but I knew what she meant. We had no idea exactly what Able’s experiments had been. She was talking in clinical terms. It was possible Rowan would wake up in wolf form and not be able to shift back.

  I felt the faint fluttering in Rowan’s pulse. It happened from time to time. But this was weaker. My own pulse quickened then stilled.

  “Do it,” I said more forcefully. The monitors beeped above Rowan’s head. Molly frowned. I didn’t need to read them. Rowan. My Rowan. She was dying.

  “I think it’s now or never, Suzanne,” Molly said. She squeezed my hand.

  Suzanne gave her a grim nod and stepped up to the bed.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” I asked. “I mean...is she supposed to swallow it? Does it go in a vein?”

  Suzanne gave me that look that doctors have. Calm assurance. Shoulders back. Then, something passed over her face. She dropped her jaw. “You know, I have never done this before. I do not know a soul alive who has.”

  “Great.” I kissed Rowan’s hand. “So you’re winging it. Hold on, baby. Just hold on.”

  Suzanne lifted Rowan’s arm. She tied a rubber band around Rowan’s arm and rolled the skin. Satisfied she’d found what she needed, Suzanne took a breath and injected the blood straight into Rowan’s vein.

  Rowan seized instantly. Her back arched and she came close to a foot off the bed.

  “Hold her!” Suzanne shouted. The needle was still sticking in Rowan’s arm.

  I pressed her shoulders down. Suzanne leaned around me and held her head back. Molly grabbed Rowan’s feet.

  Rowan’s muscles contorted. Veins bulged near her temples. Her eyes snapped open. The whites had gone blood red, the irises a fiery silver. But, there was life in them. Her bones sharpened, her cheeks jutted out so far I thought they’d break the skin.

  “Baby!” I shouted. “Fight it. Come back to me. I’m right here. I’ve got you.”

  Rowan sucked in a great breath of air, then another. Her fists clenched and unclenched as if she had an electrical current running through her. It seemed that’s exactly what it was. I felt her heart hammering in her chest. Strong, but erratic. Oh, God. It felt like it might explode.

  “Give her something!” Molly shouted. “Push valium!” She leaned back and hit the nurse’s call button with her elbow. “Get a crash cart in here! Shit, why didn’t we think of that before?”

  “No!” The word roared out of me. I leaped on the bed, pushing Suzanne and Molly out of the way. I gathered Rowan’s thrashing body in my arms and held her close.

  “Get out!” I yelled. “Everybody get out!”

  Molly and Suzanne backed away, their faces registering pure terror. Liam was there. He pushed Molly behind him.

  “Baby,” I whispered, smoothing the hair from her face. Rowan had stopped seizing but her body went rigid as stone.

  Slowly, she sank into me. Little tremors ran through her as I whispered her name over and over. Hot tears ran from my cheeks to hers.

  “Baby. Come back. I’m here. Listen to the sound of my voice. You’re safe. I’ve got you. I’m never going to let you go.”

  I felt the raging tide recede within her. Rowan’s heartbeat fluttered, slowed, then started up again. It beat strong and clear, matching perfectly with my own.

  She opened her eyes and looked at me. Sobbing, I kissed her everywhere. Her lips. Her cheeks. Her neck. Her hands.

  “I love you,” I whispered. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

  Molly cried out. Standing in the hall, she saw enough to understand. Liam joined her, letting out a joyful howl.

  “Thank God,” Suzanne yelled. There were other cheers moving in a ripple down the hall.

  Covered in sweat, Rowan sat up. I supported her back with my arm. She lifted one hand and touched my cheek. Her voice groggy from lack of use, her words were clear and strong.

  “Hi, baby. What did I miss?”

  Thirty-Two

  Rowan

  New Year’s Day

  “I can keep my eyes closed,” I said, laughing.

  “I don’t trust you,” Jagger replied. He covered the top of my face with his hands. His warm, solid chest pressed against me as he led me forward; we stumbled over each other’s feet.

  A sharp wind blew in from the north. The temperature had dropped into the mid-teens this morning. I didn’t feel the cold. I felt Jagger’s heat racing through me. My own heat rose to join it.

  Even without my eyes, I could sense we were in a wide-open space. I heard trees rustling and a creaking sound I recognized as shifting ice. Jagger took his hands away but held me against him. I leaned my head into the hollow of his shoulder.

  Snow-covered pine trees formed a semicircle to the right of us. But straight ahead, the frozen lake stretched to the horizon. Wisps of snow swirled over the top. It looked solid. Houses dotted along the distant shore on the opposite side, but we stood on a peninsula with no one else around.

  “Lake Barkley?” I asked. It felt familiar here. Things had changed a bit, but I had the sense we weren’t that far from Heartland.

  “Good guess,” he answered, lifting his arm, he pointed east and ducked a bit so I could track where he meant. “The Land Between the Lakes Reserve is that way.”

  “Jagger, it’s beautiful.”

  He turned me to face him, eyes twinkling. “It’s ours.”

  “What?” My heart thudded.

  “I signed the paperwork this morning. If you like it, we can meet with the contractors next week. They’re friends of ours. People we’ve helped over the years. I’m planning on doing most of the work myself. Before...all of this, it was kind of a hobby of mine. I’d like to get back into it.”

  I touched his face. My vision blurred from the tears forming. “Jagger.”

  “Do you like it?” I turned back to the wintry snowscape. It felt magical. It felt like...home.

  “I love it,” I answered, my voice choking up. “And I love you.” I pressed my head back against him. Jagger’s arms came around me, enveloping me in his solid warmth.

  I was weak still. The last few weeks were still fuzzy to me. I thought I’d died in Jagger’s arms. I remembered the sensation of floating through dark water, like submerging myself in the springs below Mammoth Caves. Jagger kept me tethered. His voice. His kiss. His touch. It had been with me all the time.

  A pulse thrummed between my legs as I turned to face him. I took a step back, locking my hands with his. His breath misted and his eyes burned bright like diamonds.

  He’d been gentle with me in the weeks since I woke up, content to hold me in his arms and whisper my name as I drifted off to sleep. I had no more strength than a newborn kitten at first. I felt...different. Suzanne and Molly said I was healthy again. All my tests were normal. And yet, I knew something had changed.

  “I want you,” I said, feeling Jagger’s heartbeat stutter. Desire flooded through him. I could feel him. I could feel everything. This man. This beautiful, wonderful, tragic, brave, strong man. He had given everything for me. He brought down Able Valent. And he went up against a dragon to save me. He hadn’t told me about that last part, but I felt it in the quiet dark as he held me.

  “Rowan…”

  I put my hand on his cheek. “I’m all right. I’m strong enough. And Jagger, if I don’t have you, soon...now...I don’t…”

  His lips were on me. Animal lust heated his blood as he lifted me off the ground. My love. My wolf. His hard length pressed against my inner thigh as he carried me to the shelter of the trees.

  I didn’t feel the cold as he laid me on the ground. Gasping, I slipped out of my jeans and pulled my sweater over my head. Jagger stepped back. Eyes gleaming, he took me in. I knew I was thinner. My cheeks still slightly hollowed and the dark circles hadn’t yet faded beneath my eyes. But, I was strong. I
was healed. And I belonged to him.

  I spread my legs in invitation. Desire raced through my heart, heating my blood, drumming through my core. Jagger dropped to his knees before me.

  “Rowan,” he whispered. “My Rowan. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  My nipples pebbled from the cold I couldn’t feel. Jagger reached for me, tracing a line from my lips down my chin, then circling each breast. I shivered with pleasure. But, I wanted more. So much more.

  I had been waiting for this for so long. We both had. Jagger had been timid with me. Careful. He was afraid of losing me, hurting me. I was too. But, I knew something he still had trouble believing. I was stronger now than I was before. My hunger for him nearly drove out all reason. Now, it was time to show him just how strong I really was.

  I reached for him, pulling at his jeans. I tugged them off while he whipped his shirt off and cast it aside. Jagger. My Alpha. His eyes gleamed with silvery lust as he knelt before me. His perfect, chiseled muscles rippled as I ran my finger down his arm. I looped my fingers through his and brought his hand to my breast again. He pressed his palms to them, warming them. I was on my knees too, sliding my hands until I cupped his granite-hard ass.

  The wind lifted my hair, making it stream behind me. Jagger tilted his head and brought his lips to mine. His hard cock pulsed against my belly and I couldn’t hold back another second. Pulling away, I went down on all fours and took him in my mouth.

  “Rowan,” he whispered, his voice husky with desire. He said it over and over as I worked and sucked him. I slid a hand beneath him, gently cupping his balls. As I stroked him there, he let his wolf out just a little. Smiling, I looked up him. His fangs had dropped and his eyes glinted.

  Yes. Oh, yes.

  Heat pooled between my legs. I could barely see straight. My legs trembled with my growing need. I had wanted him before. Since the moment I’d first laid eyes on him, I knew we shared a destiny. But, I could never have dreamed how far it would take us. He had split my world apart and let the sunlight and magic in. My whole life, I’d wanted to know who I was and where I came from. When Jagger first kissed me, the answers settled deep in my heart. It didn’t matter what came before or what they’d done to me. It only mattered where I went from here. With Jagger by my side, we could do anything.